Monday, June 15, 2015

Nailed it.

Today, I got to experience another round of me vs. Pinterest. You can guess who won. The same one who always freaking wins.

Sigh.

So I have been reading all about how important it is to keep kids on a schedule for the summer, keep them reading and working on math and grammar, etc. And I've been seeing all these cute and creative schedules and thought "How hard can that be? I could totally do that!"

Mistake #1.

After lots of Pinterest searching last night, I came up with THIS schedule.

I was pumped and ready to get these kids started off on the right foot for summer.

When I got home at 7:15am from the gym, both kids were awake and were happily enjoying "Free Play" (aka messing the house up). Meaning I walked into a house that already looked like a tornado had swept through. Some parents of young kids are totally cool with their house looking like a frat house.

Let's just say we're NOT those parents.

(Obviously. Those parents don't have THIS schedule. Duh.)

Free time before work = Mistake #2. Seriously, WHAT was I thinking???

They then spent the next hour and half screaming, fighting and inflicting injury with and onto one another instead of cleaning up. Very quickly, they were both in time out (multiple times) and I was headed there myself, since I may or may not have been taking my frustrations with them out on Dusk. Oops. Sorry, hun.

Then, we went to Bodie's ENT appointment, which Bodie protested mightily over. Apparently, he had an issue with "Free play; go outside time!' being a visit to the doctor's office. Picky, picky.

Then we came home and the kids ate lunch while working their way through their schoolwork. Sierra breezed through her worksheets like a champ. Bodie, on the other hand, quickly got a handle on words like "cat," "sat," and "hat."…and then lost his mind when I tried to get him to figure out "at." (A word he already knows.) As in, lying on the floor crying in fetal position because "I CAN'T FIGURE IT OUT, MOMMY!!!" So, he got halfway through his first sheet before I decided enough was enough, and it was time to jump straight to quiet reading time.

Which was, quite honestly, complete and utter bliss. Sweet silence. No fighting. No hurting each other. No screaming about not understanding easy words. Just happy reading. YES.

And then we moved onto craft time. My bright idea was to make library bags to put our library books in (the kids are both participating in the local summer reading program). Except that they wanted to use the rotary cutter (um…NOOOOO Just NO) and use the iron (Sierra ok, but Bodie, NO). So…

Bodie's "craft time" consisted in him watching me make his library bag.

At least he got to pick out the fabrics (all turtle themed - reversible with teenage mutant ninja turtles one on side).

And he really liked it!

And Sierra's "craft time" consisted of me stopping every 2 minutes to help her re-thread her sewing machine (ok, maybe not that often, but it sure felt like it). Her bag isn't done yet (I made Bodie's and had her make hers), but she's almost there. Hopefully in the next day or so she'll be done.

By then it was off to ballet for Sierra and back home for dinner. Which means we didn't get the "scheduled" clean up time in…so the house looked approximately like this when daddy got home from work.

2 comments:

Ha ha! Sometimes Pinterest needs a reality check. Just because someone posted a photo and a two sentence blurb does not mean it will work. Take the good pieces of the day and revise it as needed for your family. Good luck!

eeeesh.... Talk about ruining a perfect stress free summer! A little bedtime reading and letting them take turns choosing one favorite activity each day. Parents make too much work for themselves.Children playing and using their imagination is the top priorty.GFive them a pound of clay and call it a day! ahahaha

"For you formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb. I will gave thanks to you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are your works, And my soul knows it very well."
-Psalm 139:13-14

The first time my heart walked around outside my body

My rock, the wonderful man on this journey with me

Me

I'm currently a happily married stay at home mom to my beautiful children Sierra and Bodie. Our life's a bit challenging at the moment, but we thank God every day for the opportunity to love our children!

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The Chosen Mothers by Erma Bombeck

Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures, and a couple by habit. Did you ever wonder how mothers of children with life threatening illnesses are chosen?

Somehow, I visualize God hovering over Earth selecting His instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As He observes, He instructs His angels to make notes in a giant ledger. "Armstrong, Beth, son, patron saint Matthew. Forrest, Marjorie, daughter, patron saint Cecilia. Rutledge, Carrie, twins, patron saint Gerard."

Finally, He passes a name to an angel and says, "Give her a child with cancer." The angel is curious. "Why this one God? She's so happy." "Exactly" smiles God, "Could I give a child with cancer a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel."

"But, does she have patience?" asks the angel. "I don't want her to have too much patience or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wears off, she will handle it." "I watched her today. She has that feeling of self and independence that is so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I'm going to give her has it's own world. She has to make it live in her world and that's not going to be easy."

"But, Lord, I don't think she believes in you." No matter, I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness." The angel gasps -"Selfishness? is that a virtue?"

God nods. "If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally, she'll never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child less than perfect. She doesn't realize it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take anything her child does for granted. She will never consider a single step ordinary. I will permit her to see clearly the things I see...ignorance, cruelty, prejudice...and allow her to rise above them." She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life, because she is doing My work as surely as if she is here by My side." "And what about her patron Saint?" asks the angel. His pen poised in mid-air. God smiles, "A mirror will suffice."